SENIOR LEGAL SECRETARY

Definition

THE JOB: Under direction, coordinate, supervise and evaluate the work of subordinate legal secretarial and clerical staff; compose, prepare and process the most difficult and complex legal tasks; know proper format for filing briefs from rough copy or recorded draft; set up new procedures; train new employees; re-evaluate procedures to make sure that they meet legal requirements as the laws change; and do other work as required. Incumbents have frequent contact with attorneys, County departments, and outside agencies which requires a broad knowledge of the rules, policies and procedures of the legal department. Incumbents are required to exercise independent judgment and discretion, safeguard the confidentiality of information and demonstrate tact and diplomacy. The current opening is in the District Attorney’s Office, criminal division. The eligible list established from this recruitment will be used to fill current and future vacancies during the life of the eligible list.

Employment Standards

THE REQUIREMENTS: Any combination of training and experience that would provide the required knowledge and abilities is qualifying, unless otherwise specified. A typical way to obtain these knowledge and abilities would be:

Two years of increasingly responsible legal secretarial experience that demonstrates application or possession of the required knowledge and abilities.

Knowledge: Thorough knowledge of office procedures and practices, including preparation of correspondence and reports and filing; vocabulary, spelling, grammar and punctuation; standard typewriter set-ups and formats for business correspondence and reports. Working knowledge of legal terminology forms, documents and procedures; forms and formatting for legal documents; organization services, programs and functions of the courts and legal departments. Some knowledge of supervision and training; application of data processing to legal office operations may be required for some positions.

Ability to: Plan, assign, schedule, coordinate and evaluate the work of subordinate staff (required for most positions); perform complex and difficult legal clerical work requiring independent judgment, accuracy and speed; prepare legal documents in accepted formats from brief instructions, handwritten, typed or recorded drafts; understand, interpret, explain and apply rules, laws, and regulations, policies and procedures; establish and maintain effective working relationships; understand and follow oral and written directions; make arithmetic computations; maintain records and prepare reports; adjust to workload changes and meet deadlines under pressure of legal deadlines; screen and prioritize correspondence and phone calls; exercise independent judgment and discretion, safeguard the confidentiality of information, and demonstrate tact and diplomacy; work independently; perform routine legal research; process a wide variety of legal documents; compose letters and written responses to inquiries and routine portions of reports; operate word processing equipment and computer terminals to input and access data; and operate standard office equipment.

Benefits

EMPLOYEE BENEFITS:ANNUAL LEAVE - 22 days first year, increasing to 37 days after 15 years of service. Available for vacation and/or sick leave. HOLIDAYS - 13 paid holidays per year. BEREAVEMENT LEAVE – 3 days paid in California, 5 days paid out-of-state. MEDICAL PLAN - The County contracts with CalPERS for a variety of medical plans. For most plans, County contributions pay a majority of the premiums for employees and eligible dependents. DENTAL PLAN - County pays for employee and eligible dependent coverage. VISION PLAN - County pays for employee coverage. Employee may purchase eligible dependent coverage. RETIREMENT - Pension formula 2% at age 60 or 2% at age 62 as determined based on provisions of the CA Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act of 2013(PEPRA). Pension benefit determined by final average compensation of three years. County participates in Social Security. LIFE INSURANCE - County paid $20,000 term policy. Employee may purchase additional life insurance. DISABILITY INSURANCE - Employees in the General Representation Unit participate in the State Disability Insurance (SDI) program. This program is funded 100% by employee payroll deductions. DEPENDENT-CARE PLAN - Employees who make contributions for child or dependent care may elect to have their contributions made utilizing “pre-tax dollars.” H-CARE PLAN - Employees who pay a County medical premium may elect this pre-tax program. HEALTH CARE FLEXIBLE SPENDING ALLOWANCE (HCFSA) - Employees may elect this pre-tax program to cover qualifying health care expenses. DEFERRED COMPENSATION - A deferred compensation plan is available to employees

Selection Plan

THE EXAMINATION: Your application and supplemental questionnaire will be reviewed to determine if you have met the education, experience, training and/or licensing requirements as stated on the job announcement. If you meet these criteria and are one of the best qualified, you may be required to compete in any combination of written, oral and/or performance examinations or a competitive evaluation of training and experience as described on your application and supplemental questionnaire. You must pass all components of the examination to be placed on the eligible list. The examination may be eliminated if there are ten or fewer qualified applicants. If the eligible list is established without the administration of the announced examination, the life of the eligible list will be six months and your overall score will be based upon an evaluation of your application and supplemental questionnaire. If during those six months it is necessary to administer another examination for this job class, you will be invited to take the examination to remain on the eligible list.

HOW TO APPLY: Apply Online Now! Click on the link below; or print out an application and supplemental questionnaire and mail/bring them to: Santa Cruz County Personnel Department, 701 Ocean Street, Room 510, Santa Cruz, CA, 95060. For information, call (831) 454-2600. Hearing Impaired TDD/TTY: 711. Applications will meet the final filing date if received in one of the following ways: 1) in the Personnel Department by 5:00 p.m. on the final filing date, 2) submitted online before midnight of the final filing date.

Women, minorities and people with disabilities are encouraged to apply. If you have a disability that requires test accommodation, please call (831) 454-2600.

To comply with the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act, Santa Cruz County verifies that all new employees are either U.S. citizens or persons authorized to work in the U.S.